The Q7 feels like a real statement car to me: Audi flexing its muscles and showing what it can do, a bit like Mercedes-Benz does with the S-Class. I didn’t expect to like it so much.

In driver reward, off-road ability and handsomeness, the two diverge. But the Q7 is hugely practical, commendably potent and immaculately mannered, and it comes with a brilliantly constructed cabin – a breathable mix of cathedral-like tranquillity and upper-class imperiousness.

Audi knows what its customers want as well as any car maker – and this Q7 feels much more like the ultimate expression of that knowledge than the last one ever did.

It’s undeniable that we prefer some of its rivals as more engaging cars to drive but, regardless, the Q7 is destined for big things.